


Welcome to Weeks, The Entrance to Hell

by SuperPsychedelic



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Another poor soul is sucked into the hell dimension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 19:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14940623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperPsychedelic/pseuds/SuperPsychedelic
Summary: Riley Porter's life is a mess after her younger brother Isaac disappeared without a trace in 2013 near the mysterious town of Weeks. After learning that that particular area of the country has had an immense amount of disappearances, she takes it upon herself to go and investigate the area herself. What she tragically doesn't know, is that many have come and gone before her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another work that I don't think I'll ever finish, so I'm posting it here so at least a few people can potentially enjoy it.

The afternoon sun blinked through the canopy of tree branches hanging over the curvy Appalachian road. An old clunker of a Ford sped along through a shady tunnel of green in solitude. It squeaked around a rather precarious curve with a sharp drop-off. The guardrail here was damaged a great deal, attesting to a good number of close calls. The young woman behind the wheel coaxed her struggling Mustang further up the winding hillside road. The engine revved and choked in protest. 

Riley Porter had driven on these types of road before she was even sixteen. These secluded, backwoods roads were very familiar to her. Her experience made her no less cautious however. These twisting roads were notorious for deadly accidents.

She huffed and wiped away some moisture that was collecting on her brow, then scratched her scalp and pulled at her dark ponytail. The air conditioning had finally given out right before her trip, surely in part due to this summer being the hottest on record. That, in conjuction with the suffocating humidity, made summers in this part of the country almost unbearable without some way to cool off.

The young woman leaned her head out of the window a little bit more, enjoying the feeling of the air rushing over her face.  _ Just one more thing to add to the list of broken crap on this piece of shit Ford, _ she thought bitterly. Repairs meant spending money, something she didn't have much of these days. Despite that, she managed to scrouge together enough for this roadtrip. Sure, it meant having to sleep in her car for a few days, but this was something she had wanted to do for years: To finally search that damn town of Weeks herself.

Weeks... Hartford County... 

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened until the plastic groaned.

It was the last place her younger brother had ever been seen before he completely vanished off the face of the Earth. The police only searched for a month before calling it off. For a year her whole family searched that town and the surrounding woods whenever they could. Hoping to find some sign that Isaac had even existed. Nothing, not even a footprint or a damn strand of hair had ever been found. It had been back before she had dropped out of Virginia Polytechnic... Had it really been three years?

Her parents had eventually resigned themselve to losing a child, and their marriage hadn't lasted long after that. She felt like they had given up searching and hated them for it. For the longest time she wondered what had happened to him. Had he been kidnapped? Did he abandon them altogether and start a new life? Did someone murder him? There was no way to know without any evidence, but she couldn't help but wonder. Nothing she or the police came up with ever made sense. Isaac had never been the kind of kid to get into trouble. Right before he vanished, the kid had been driving up north to visit NYC and tour the campus before he made his final decision on a university.  _ God, he was always so smart... _

An image flashed into her head of Isaac attempting to shield himself as a huge knife plunged into him, blood spewing everywhere...

Riley immediately squashed the unwanted thought into the back of her mind. Her hand instinctively reached inside her pocket and found the smooth object there, gripping it for comfort. Slowly, she brought out the small pocket knife into the light and flicked it open. The hilt was made of super-smooth finished wood and steel blade glinted brightly. The symbol for the Eagle Scouts was burned into it, along with Isaac's name. It was the very last thing he ever gave to her, so she kept it close.

She snapped out her daydreaming when the car jerked. The gearshift had slipped, just as it was nearing the top of hill. She carefully closed the knife and tucked it back into the safety of her pocket.

"Oh c'mon, don't do this..."

It slowed a little, but revving the engine and shifting gears a few times seemed to do the trick. The Ford jerked once again when the gearshift caught, and it slowly powered itself over the hilltop. Riley relaxed once the vehicle began coasting downhill.

Her thoughts began to wander back to the reason behind this whole excursion. Nothing had ever been found, yes, but there was one little fact about Weeks that was so astounding it made her sick with anxiety every time she recalled it. As of January 21st, 2017 there had been over seven-hundred reported missing persons since the small town was founded in 1836 ... Seven. Hundred. In that single county. What baffled her the most was that, like her brother, not one single person had ever been found: no body, no remains, nothing. It was as if they had all vanished into thin air.

She had first learned of the phenomenon on some forums dedicated to lesser known cold cases. Some small corners of the internet were obsessed with the correlation, but little information could be found online. Most of the information available consisted of vague public police reports, most originating from the nearby town of Wetherfield. Riley quickly concluded that someone would have to physically go down there to learn anything, leading to this roadtrip. It was too much of a coincidence, her brother and all of these vanishings. She had to go there and figure this out.

One state line and a gas-station turkey sandwich later, the young woman passed a sign stating she was a mere five miles from Wetherfield. Riley consulted the map on her phone to confirm she was on the right track. Oddly enough, the obscure town of Weeks could no longer be found on any modern map or even on Google maps. Wetherfield was the only lead she had. 

Soon enough, she was in the downtown area, surrounded by old brick buildings. Her first stop would be the local records office or library. She found a parking spot on the street near what looked to be the right place, so she grabbed her old messenger bag and made her way toward the dilapidated structure. It had certainly been built before the 20th century.

She was suddenly struck by a feeling of uneasiness halfway to the entrance. Pausing, she slowly scanned the surrounding town. Something was off here...

_ Where is everyone? _

Not a soul walked the streets or browsed the nearby shops. Sure, the sun was low in the sky and it would be dark in a few hours, but she was completely alone right now in the middle of downtown Wetherfield. She couldn't even see another vehicle in the area. Maybe the population was a lot smaller than she originally thought? Unsettled but undeterred, the young woman continued to the entrance where she pulled open the old door and walked in. 

The first thing she noticed was the smell: musty old paper and books, a smell she found quite pleasant. She had half-expected the place to be dark, but modern electric lamps lit up the interior. In the foyer, there was an empty wooden desk with an old computer, dusty and clearly unused. A number of personal nicknacks decorating the desk. There was also a bell with a nearby sign reading, "Ring for service." She frowned in a moment of doubt, then went ahead and quickly tapped bell, letting lose a crisp ring that echoed through the air. 

After waiting a minute with no one appearing, she assumed that this place had been abandoned as well. Riley moved to walk toward what she assumed to be the main library, when a little old lady shuffled out of a back room and made her way to a spot behind the desk. Her voice was frail, but friendly.

"Oh, hello there. You're a new face around here. How can I help you?"

The old woman almost looked like a stereotypical librarian or teacher. Her thin gray hair was pulled into a tight bun. She wore thick bifocals along with a full length dress reminiscent of flower printed curtains. The drapery-style dress was complimented by a little corduroy jacket.

“Yes Ma’am, I’m here to view the historical archives.”

“Oh yes, right this way,” the librarian said merrily, and began shuffling into the main room. Riley trailed behind her patiently.

The old lady passed several maze-like sections of shelves loaded with books, navigating her way towards the back of the building. She then turned into a hallway and stopped just before a flight of stairs. The passage down into the basement was steep and narrow.

"All of our historical records are in the basement dear. I'd accompany you, but my knees aren't what they used to be. The young'uns usually tend to that section."

Riley smiled graciously. "Oh, not a problem! I think I'll be fine. Thank you."

The librarian smiled cheerily in return, "Okay then deary. Everything should be organized by year and then subject. There's also a microfilm machine down there if you want to look at old newspapers."

"Oh, wonderful! Thanks for the help Miss... um..."

"You can call me Miss Sally."

"Okay, nice to meet you. I'm Riley."

"Nice to meet you as well, Riley," Miss Sally chimed, gently shaking the other woman's hand. "If you need me I'll be back at the front."

As the librarian shuffled back to her front desk, Riley turned and trudged down the staircase.  _ What a sweet old lady. At least there's one other soul in this town. _ The old steps creaked threatenly as the young woman carefully lowered herself down each one. She breathed a sigh of relief once her feet reached the safety of the bottom floor. Riley smiled at the sight of the many shelves and cabinets sure to be full of secrets. The microfilm machine seemed to be a good place to start though.

It didn't take very long wandering around the lower floor until she found a little area with the lone piece of technology from another era. She sat down, flipped the power switch, pulled out her notebook, and got down to work analyzing the Wetherfield Herald.

Looking at even some of the most recent editions, several things became apparent. Even though this wasn't technically the town of Weeks, Wetherfield did report on the occasional missing person from the area. The articles always seemed to be somewhat vague and never actually mentioned Weeks (if that was indeed the area these people were going missing). Another thing she noticed was that, with the more mysterious disappearances or the ones with no leads, the victims tended to be young adults or middle-aged. According to her previous research, the national average tended to be under eighteen. An odd discrepancy.

"Interesting. Better go back further though."

She huffed then, realizing that there was a lot of material to go through. She spun the dial several times to go through the newspapers faster. Then, she came upon articles from 2013 and stopped.

Isaac...

She wondered if the Wetherfield Herald had reported on his disappearance. He went missing on June 6th. Riley slowly scanned over the edition for that day, carefully reading each and every headline. But there was nothing about a missing young man. Maybe they didn't report it until several days after? So, she went to the next day's paper and carefully read over that one. Still nothing, so she went to the next day, then the next, next, next, next...

There was... nothing. Nothing about Isaac Porter. Was he not important enough to report on? Just another outsider to them? Was there nothing important about his distraught family, or his plans to go NYC, or the fact that he was an Eagle Scout, or... or...

_ sniffle _

Why... why'd he have to leave her... That little brat, he shouldn't have gone alone. Everything was ruined now. Their family was in shambles because he insisted it would be FINE. She should've just gone with him. Then when he was abducted by aliens or whatever the hell, at least she'd be there helping him instead of sitting here looking like an idiot with snot pouring out of her nose.

_ Okay okay, calm down, crying isn't going to help anything. For all you know he's freakin' sitting on a beach sipping margaritas. _

Riley simultaneously frowned and laughed at that thought.  _ Heh, smart-ass little brat...  _ Using a few old napkins she kept in her bag, she wiped the fluids from her face and took in several deep breaths to calm down. She reached into her pocket and tightly held onto Isaac's pocket knife.  _ I know he's alive, I can feel it. _

After several minutes, she began to feel much better with her renewed hope. Time to get back to work. She had to go back in time as far as this old machine could take her. Back to the beginning, when everything started.

\------------------

 

November 14th, 1893

MINING WAREHOUSE EXPLOSION 13 DEAD

A storage warehouse utilized by the Macmillan iron mine exploded without warning yesterday afternoon. It had reportedly been used to house the coal that fueled the smelting operation in the foundry. The incident is currently under investigation. There is no sign of the 13 workers. It is presumed that they perished in the explosion. Owner Archie Macmillan states that everything is being done to remedy this tragedy. He promises changes in operations.

March 3rd, 1906

NEARBY MINING ESTATE MASS DISAPPEARANCE!

The mine, situated in the neighboring town of Weeks, has wrought misfortune for some poor souls. In the last week, six boys have gone missing whilst on the job. It was thought that they may have been killed while performing their duties, but there has been no body found. No other workers saw the men leave the premise that day and reported that they had been going about their daily routines until they disappeared. Relatives of the missing are distraught and only have more questions. It is as if God himself took these boys from this mortal plane of existence.

May 22nd, 1906

ANOTHER GROUP OF MINE WORKERS GO MISSING

Four more boys have vanished at the site of the Macmillan mining site. This brings the total to twelve total disappearances. Many other workers have become uneasy and are threatening to quit. Several workers have already walked off the job. Owner Archie Macmillan had nothing to say on the matter.

August 18th, 1912

WIFE WONDERS WHERE HUSBAND IS

Local woman reports that her husband, a worker for the foundry, never came home one day after reporting for work. A police report was filed, but no action had been taken as of yet...

 

Riley continued to pour over the articles. More missing workers, rumors of shady practices, questions raised about the conditions at the Macmillan Estate... There never seemed to be any reports of arrests or convictions however. The Macmillans must have had deep pockets. She continued on through the years until she came upon a headline that took up half the front page.

_ My god... _

 

September 24th, 1935

TRAGEDY OF THE CENTURY! MINE COLLAPSES, KILLING HUNDREDS

A great tragedy for Hartford county occurred yesterday when the main shaft at the Macmillan iron mine collapsed, trapping all men inside. Estimates for dead are in the hundreds. It is unknown exactly what caused the collapse, but residents of Weeks have reported that they heard and felt what seemed to be an explosion at the time of the disaster, suggesting that there may have been an accidental discharge of explosives. Investigations are currently underway. Archie Macmillan and his son Evan have declined all attempts at communication, both with reporters and even the police. Rumors suggest that this terrible incident may force the mine to shut down indefinitely.

 

Riley couldn't even imagine how a disaster of this magnitude had affected Weeks and the surrounding areas. So much death and tragedy over the years, all seeming to originate from this one location. Was it so crazy to think that, with all of these bad occurrences, something was still influencing the area and the people? Riley wasn't superstitious (hell, she didn't even believe in ghosts or the afterlife), but all of these correlations were nagging at her. The badly run mine, the numerous accidents, the staggering amount of deaths, the constant stream of missing people continuing to this very day... It made perfect sense, but it made no sense.

She had to go there.

First things first: where even was the Macmillan Estate? Obviously somewhere near Weeks, but she didn't even know where  _ that _ was. Time to hit the books then.

 

\---------

 

Three hours later, Riley finally emerged from the depths of the basement. It had taken a fair amount of paper pushing and searching, but she had finally found several maps showing the location of Weeks and the infamous estate that sat at the heart of it. She finally had a rough idea of where to go, but the old maps were obscure. She'd have to ask some locals about the area.

Back at the front desk, Riley saw Miss Sally packing up her things in preparation to go back home for the night. It was much later than she realized.

The gray librarian perked up when she saw the approaching younger lady. "Oh, there you are! I was about to send for a search party! Did you find everything you needed?"

Riley chuckled, "Ah, yeah sorry, I lost track of time. I think I found everything."

"Oh wonderful, glad to hear it."

"I still have a few questions though. Maybe you can fill in the details?"

"I've lived here fifty years. I'm sure I could help fill you in, honey."

"Great! Okay, now how exactly do I get to Weeks? I found several maps but I'm... not sure... where..."

All of a sudden that sweet old librarian's face suddenly fell and her eyes narrowed. The change in her expression was so jarring, it made Riley freeze up. Her mind went blank and she had forgotten what she was talking about. Riley searched the other woman's face for some kind of explanation.

"I'm... I'm sorry did- did I say something wrong?"

The old woman sighed heavily, her voice deadly serious. "Do yourself a favor and go back home Riley. Weeks is not a place any person should ever visit."

Brow crinkling in confusion, Riley stopped the other woman as she started to leave. "W- Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I won’t say anything else. You should leave." Miss Sally moved for the front door once again and Riley once again jumped in front her.

"Wait, I don't understand. I saw the articles about Weeks. I know what happened. Is it not safe or something? What am I missing here?"

"You know absolutely nothing about what happened there!"

Startled by the sudden intensity in the old woman, Riley became truly concerned. Her hazel eyes searched the other's tired gray ones for some kind of explanation. After several strained seconds, the older lady finally conceded. Her gaze dropped to the floor.

"The newspapers don't tell the whole story. We older folks know exactly what happened but we never talk about it. Sometimes the past should remain in the past. That old town of Weeks, it's been abandoned for years but..." she paused, considering whether or not to continue. "Something... something's taken hold of that place... something dark."

The librarian suddenly became fearful, "I- I've said too much. Just please, don't try to go there Riley. I couldn't bear it if something were to happen to you because of me."

The young woman stared at the other for a while. With a hint of regret, Riley responded, "I'm sorry Miss Sally, but I have no choice."

The older woman frowned, visibly pained.

Nonetheless Riley continued: "I have to go because my brother went missing there three years ago. Weeks is the only lead I have. The only thing I have left of him... I have to find out what happened to him."

Miss Sally shook her head dejectedly, "Please... please don't throw your life away dear. So many others have gone there and never returned. The police don't even bother searching anymore. Anyone that has ever disappeared in Weeks has never been found. Ever.  Your brother will be no different... I'm so so sorry."

Before she could swallow the lump growing in her throat, tears started to burn in her eyes. "No... No. I can't live with myself if I don't try." Her voice faltered and the tears threatened to spill. "You might be able to live with yourself without knowing why all those people vanished, but I- I can't. I can't keep wondering what the hell happened to my little brother. I'm going, whether you help me or not..."

The librarian's gaze remained fixated on the floor, seemingly resigned to the fate of the other woman. It didn't seem like she would be saying anything else.

Huffing in frustration at the old woman's silence, Riley spun around and stormed out the door, making a B-line for her car. It took everything she had to not break down right then and there. Once within the safety of her Mustang, she allowed herself a few weeping hiccups. She then wiped her face with a sleeve and focused on breathing.

_ What the hell even was that. _

Her mind started to try to process that exceedingly odd conversation. Sally had said that there was something residing in Weeks, something dark. Riley remembered the look on the librarian's face when she had revealed that particular piece of information, like she had made a terrible mistake. It was fear. True fear.

Riley shivered. What the hell was in that town? And what did it have to do with Isaac?

She sighed heavily as she leaned out the window of her car. The sky had become a deep gradient of blue and purple, with the clouds sporting hazy pink and orange outlines. The stars were even starting to become visible, albeit still faint. The planet Venus was managing to outshine all of them though. It was truly beautiful.

Riley wanted badly to go and explore Weeks, but night had almost completely set in. Searching wouldn't do much good if she couldn't see anything. The town of Weeks would have to wait until tomorrow.

  
\--------

From the side of the road in the middle of the forest somewhere, Riley stared at her smartphone in confusion. She studied the picture she had taken of a map in the library then tried to compare it Google maps. Nothing was lining up.

Sitting back in frustration, she tossed her phone in the passenger seat and furiously rubbed at her tired eyes. At this rate, Weeks was looking more and more unobtainable. It was still early in the morning though. She'd have to come across it eventually. It didn't seem that far from Wetherfield from what she had seen in the archives.

Her stomach seemed to turn in on itself just then. A wave a nausea washed over her.  _ Ugh... _ That Egg Mcmuffin sandwich was doing her no favors right now. The feeling eventually passed and Riley decided it was time to get back on track.

\--------------

~elcome to  Weeks . Population 5,3~~

Riley could barely make out the writing on the rotting, dilapidated, and overgrown sign, but it was very real. Someone had crossed out the word "Weeks" with black spray paint and wrote the word "Hell" off to the side. After she had passed the ominous sign, a pit began to form in the bottom of her stomach. It wasn't the Egg Mcmuffin this time. She had to put on a brave face and do this. For Isaac.

Before she knew it, she was driving down what used to be mainstreet in the fabled town. Everything looked as if it was some kind of post-apocalyptic scene. Her mind flashed to the game Fallout and that environment and the similarities here. It was a complete ghost town. No one had lived here for a very long time. However, it did look like this was a hang out for the local teenagers however. Graffiti and beer bottles dotted several visible areas in and around the dilapidated buildings.

She stopped her car in the middle of the aging road to get her phone. It didn't seem like this place would be getting any other visitors. She pulled up a picture of a map of the Macmillan Estate. It had to be close. From the looks of it, there were no longer any roads that led to that area of the town. She'd have to hike through the woods on foot if she wanted to find this place. Great.

Sighing, she grabbed a flashlight, her phone, and several other provisions, then hopped out of her car. After taking a quick look at the picture of the map, Riley then started off in the direction towards where she thought the mine might be.

As she walked between several desolate buildings and over random junk laying on the ground, an eerie feeling began to set in. It was almost suffocating. The young woman reached into her pocket to hold the precious gift there and continued on.

Eventually she left the maze of buildings and entered the forest. It didn't seem right, but according to the GPS on her phone, she was still on the right track. Something about this forest was odd though and she couldn't quite put her finger on exactly why. The shade from the trees was a welcome respite however.

After walking for around five minutes, she started to notice things were unusually quiet, apart from the sounds of her trudging through the forest. Growing up in and around the Appalachians, you become familiar with what the woods should sound like. For one thing, she had neither seen nor heard one bird the entire time she had been in this area. She hadn't even heard any cicadas, a noisy and common resident in forests such as these during the summer. Something was definitely wrong with these woods.

_ Something... something's taken hold of that place... something dark. _

Maybe the lack of life here was another symptom of this... darkness... gripping the land that the librarian had spoken of. Riley shuddered despite the heat of the summer air.

Then, she saw something in the distance. A wall? No, a chain-link fence. Covered in plant growth and terribly rusted. Excitement blossomed in her chest and she jogged toward it. A sign was posted on the fence, the words "Mine Property: No Trespassing" barely visible. Seeing no obvious way around or through the fence, Riley grabbed onto the rusted metal and began to climb, trying to remember when her last Tetanus shot was. Once she was on the other side, she carefully jumped down and attempted to wipe the brown rust stains from her hands onto her jeans. When that failed, Riley huffed in annoyance then continued on.

It wasn't much longer until she could actually start to see some of the buildings of the estate through the trees.  _ Holy shit I made it. It actually exists. _ She hurried on into the clearing and towards the group of buildings. From here, she could see the mineshaft, several warehouses, and the Foundry a little farther off. As Riley got closer, she began to notice that everything was just as deteriorated and the rest of town, if not worse. The mineshaft and accompanying tower actually seemed completely destroyed, little more than a pile of rubble. Was that from the explosion all those years ago? Did they never even bother to try and rebuild? She shivered at the thought of those hundreds of men still trapped down there.

Despite all of this, the young woman felt drawn to mineshaft. She had to start her search somewhere after all.

Gathering her courage, she headed for the entrance to the mine, carved out of the side of a small hill and dug out to permit better entry. It looked like there had been a building here sheltering the entrance, but it had all but rotted away. She reached the gaping maw of the dark tunnel, but could not force herself to actually go in. The darkness seemed to gorge upon any light that entered. That eerie feeling had suddenly creeped back into her body, weighing heavier than ever. She stood there for a while staring down the tunnel.

Eventually, she pulled out the flashlight she had stashed in her bag, flicked it on, and aimed it down the tunnel, chasing away most of the inky blackness. For a moment she had assumed the light would be consumed by the darkness, but thankfully the laws of physics still applied. However, she could still not see the end of the shaft.

She opened her mouth to call out into the mine, but hesitated. It was like something was telling her speaking here was a bad idea. She had to make sure though.

" _ Isaac? _ " Almost a whisper. She shook her head and cleared her throat, then called out properly this time.

"Isaac?!"

Her voice reverberated throughout the mine for a good five seconds. She listened for any kind of sound resembling a response, afraid to move at all, else it would somehow interfere with her ability to hear it. She continued to stare into the darkness, listening. The darkness... it somehow felt... inviting, calming, the longer she gazed into it. Why had she been afraid of it before? Slowly, she began moving toward the wall of blackness, the flashlight all but forgotten. She wanted to be enveloped by it, embraced by it, wanted to touch it. Suddenly she began falling into the endless darkness. There was no alarm or panic; only peace. Peace washed over her being as she endlessly fell into the abyss, cradled by the softness of the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LET THE FUN BEGIN

Riley suddenly bolted awake in a panic. It took a moment for her to regain her sense of self, but eventually she began to process her surroundings. She was somewhere in the woods and it was night, actually more like twilight; there was still a blue-purple hue to the sky instead of the blackness of midnight.

How had she gotten here? Did she somehow fall asleep? From the looks of things, it seemed like she had lost a lot of time.

Slowly she got to her feet and tried to get her bearings. The last place she had remembered being was on the Macmillan Estate, but she was back in the forest now with nothing but trees and forest in every direction. There was no sign of the mine or the town of Weeks. She went to get her phone but her bag was gone. Great. She searched all of her pockets and on the ground for her phone in case she somehow dropped it but it was nowhere to be found. She stomped at the ground and let loose a growl of frustration. This was not good. At least she still had her brother's pocket knife.

Once again, she tried to make something out of her surroundings, looking for any kind of landmark or a hint of where to go.  _ Where the hell am I?? _ Riley still couldn't believe that this situation was actually happening, and still couldn't quite remember what had happened before she apparently passed out.  _ Maybe this was how Isaac went missing... _ she thought grimly.

Suddenly, the young woman spotted a faint glow of light in the distance. Without hesitation, she immediately started to run toward it. It had to be another person.

As she got closer, she realized that it was a campfire, and hope blossomed in her chest. "Hello? Is anyone there?" When she broke through the treeline, she saw that there was indeed a small bonfire there, but there was no one there tending to it. Confused, she slowly approached the fire, searching her surroundings for any signs of life, but found none. There were, however, several logs around the fire, perfect for sitting on and chatting with friends. For a second, she had an impulse to sit down, but... this was all too weird. Nothing about this felt right.

As she wandered closer to fire she noticed something, or rather, a lack thereof. Curious, Riley held a hand out toward the bonfire but she felt no heat.

"What the..."

She kept putting her hand closer until it was almost touching the dancing flames. Still no heat. No sensation of pain or burning. Riley quickly withdrew her hand and danced a little in fear. She was thoroughly freaked out now. 

"I gotta get out of here..."

She quickly jogged away from the physics-defying bonfire in no particular direction, wanting to just get away from this spot.

The young woman kept walking and walking through the forest, fear rising within her.  _ These woods aren't endless! I'll get out of here eventually. Oh god I'm so lost. _ Distracted by her panicked thoughts, Riley hadn't noticed the change in her surroundings. Portions of brick walls were now scattered among the trees. Pieces of old structures dotted the landscape, and an ominous building rose in the distance, not unlike the foundry at the Macmillan Estate. 

When she realized what she was looking at, she gasped audibly. For a moment, Riley thought she knew where she was, but slowly realized that it wasn't the same. Where were all the other structures that were here before? Looking around in search of the other landmarks, her gaze suddenly locked on something that should not have been there. Was that... a meat hook? A sense of dread filled her as she stared at it. It looked... used.

_ "Psst!" _

Riley nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. Searching her surroundings, she tried to pinpoint where the sound had originated from. When she didn't immdiately see anything, the young woman began to suspect she was loosing her mind. Then she heard it again, a voice.

_ "Over here." _

She saw a head with messy black hair poke out from behind a pile of crates.  _ Holy shit it's another human being. _ Still somewhat in a state of disbelief at this discovery, Riley slowly made her way over to the crates. The person behind them stuck there head out again and gestured for her to come faster. She complied, quickly moving to crouch behind the crates next to the person, who she could clearly see now. The young man was wearing a green jacket and beige cargo pants, both covered in various kinds of filth. He sported almond-shaped eyes and a pitch-black mess of hair. The young man eyed her suspiciously.

"Let me guess... you think you're lost?" he asked matter-of-factly.

Confused, she attempted to correct him, "Umm... no, I'm pretty sure I am lost."

"Mhmm..." He looked at her like he knew something she didn't. This guy was already starting to rub her the wrong way. "Follow me, and stay close. It isn't safe here." The man rose from his crouched position and slowing started to walk away.

"Wait, not safe? What's-"

_ "Shh!" _ he cut her off, spinning around and looking at her intently. He then beckoned her to follow and began moving again.

Riley was a little bit offended by that, but followed him in silence anyways. He did, in fact, appear to know something that she didn't, but Riley decided she'd hold off on the questions for later when it was "safe." It was just the woods anyways; the only thing really dangerous that she could think of was maybe a big predator like a bear or cougar.

The mysterious young man navigated them past several random piles of junk and what looked like a gas powered generator. He then led them along a high brick wall and behind another random piece of wall and then turned around to face her. They were fairly sheltered here.

He straightened then sighed heavily, looking over her with an expression of what appeared to be sadness. "I guess I'll be first to welcome you to Hell," he said, gesturing around them. "I'd say to enjoy your stay, but, well... more on that later."

Riley was very obviously confused.

The man scratched at the back of his head awkwardly. "Right, so uh, I'll just cut to the chase. You are no longer on the same plane of existence anymore. We're in a place that's... somewhere else, where things don't work like they should. And we're trapped."

"Are you saying that... that we're  _ dead? _ "

His brow furrowed as he considered the question. "I'm actually not sure."

Riley was taken aback. "You're  _ not sure?!" _ she squeaked in disbelief. "No, no hold on. This is ridiculous. I don't know if you're crazy or you just get off on messing with people lost in the forest, but I don't believe a thing you just told me. Now what you're gonna do, is help me get out here and take me back to Weeks. Right. Now!"

Grimacing at the elevated volume in her voice, the man in the green jacket frantically glanced around them.  _ "Keep your goddamn voice down!" _ he growled.

She rolled her eyes. "Or what? The boogey man is gonna come get us?"

The look he gave her was intense and deadly serious. There was even what looked to be a hint of fear behind his dark irises. That look inwardly disturbed her.

The man leaned forward to make sure she was listening. "Now is not the time to argue about this. Believe it or not, we are in very real danger here, and you yelling and making all this damn noise is. Not. Helping. I swear to god, if you raise your voice again, I will leave you. Understand?"

Riley considered the man opposite her and the sincerety of his words. He wasn't joking. She nodded slowly.

At that, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. Now if you want to get out of here, follow me, but try to stay low... and for christ's sake stay quiet."

She nodded once again and followed behind him into the dark forest. Riley still wasn't so sure she believed everything the guy was saying or if he was simply deranged, but he did seem genuinely afraid of... something. Something that could obviously hear them. Maybe there really was some kind of predator around here? Or maybe she was following around some asylum escapee schitzo and was playing into his delusions; Riley wasn't completely sure yet.

After a minute or two of carefully and quietly making their way around trees and other junk, they turned the corner of a half-destroyed brick wall and came upon a gas-powered generator. It looked just like the one she had seen a little while ago. The woodsman quickly slinked over to crouch next to it and started to examine the inner workings.

"Alright, if we wanna get out of here, we've gotta get this thing running again. Well, actually we've got to get more like five running, but, uh... baby steps."

Riley crouched down beside him and anxiously looked into the machinery, "I'm not an electrician! How am I supposed to fix this? I don't know what anything in here does."

"Nah, it's way easier than it looks, here just pop this thing back into place, reconnect these two wires..." Slowly but surely, the generator began to twitch back to life as he repaired it. It actually was pretty deceivingly easy, and pretty soon she was making some of the repairs herself under the supervision and guidance of the young man. He continued to give her advice and general instructions as he took a quick glance around them.

Just as she was about to twist two wires together, his gloved hand shot out and grabbed her own. She jumped back in fright, but quickly recollected herself and looked to him for an explanation.

"Wrong colors."

Looking back to the wires she had about to touch together, she noticed that they were indeed subtly different colors.

"If you put something where it shouldn't go or put together the wrong wires, the gen would have exploded. Then we'd have to start running. Catch my drift?"

She grimaced and went back to fixing the broken machinery, albeit much more carefully this time.  _ Right. Don't screw up. Got it. _ They continued to work on bringing the crippled machine back online. Whatever they were doing seemed to be working; some of the pistons were moving more quickly.

"My name's Jake by the way," he uttered quietly.

"Oh, wow sorry, I didn't even think to ask... I'm Riley."

Jake nodded thoughtfully. "Nice to meet you Riley."

After another minute of working in silence, the generator suddenly shuddered, sparked, and roared to life. The floodlights turned on and the machinery quickly chugged away, turning diesel into electricity. There was no time to appreciate the accomplishment however, as Jake had grabbed her hand and was now pulling her away back into the darkness.

"Alright, we've gotta move. That thing is probably already on it's-"

_ *SNAP* _

"AAGGHH!!" Jake suddenly tensed and fell to the ground, gasping and whimpering in pain, "Oh shit oh shit!"

"Oh my god, Jake!" She jump around in front of him then froze. He had stepped into an honest-to-god beartrap, and it was holding tight onto his now-mangled leg. "Oh s-shit." She started to shake, staring at the iron biting into the flesh of his calf, blood streaming and pooling in the dirt.

He reached up and gently grabbed her shoulder. "Riley, I- I need you help me... open t- the jaws," he pleaded, voice trembling with pain.

Tears streaming down her face, she moved to place her hands on either side of the rusted jaws with Jake doing the same. Then slowly, they attempted to pry the jaws open. Jake's voice faltered as the pressure lessened and the jagged teeth began to leave the meat of his leg. Riley pulled with all her might until finally, the trap was open just enough for Jake to pull free. He fell backwards and landed with a cry of pain. Riley released her grip on the trap, quickly slipping her fingers out as it snapped shut. She immediately went over to assist Jake as he tried to get back to his feet.

"Jake what're you-"

"W- We've gotta move, he's coming."

That's when she finally noticed it. A heartbeat. It was like it was beating from inside her skull. A dull throbbing sensation from inside her head similar to a migraine. She couldn't tell if it was her own heart beating out of her chest or something else. It was a confusing sensation.

With his arm over her shoulders, Riley helped the other to limp somewhere out of sight. The dull thumping was getting louder and faster.

"Hurry!"

Jake nearly threw himself behind a tree, dragging her down with him into the tall grass. He sat back against the trunk and put a finger to his lips, signalling for her to be silent. Riley saw that it was taking him every ounce of his concentration to keep from making noise. Jake was sweating bullets and trembling miserably.

The heatbeat was louder and faster than ever. Her own heart seemed to match the same intense tempo.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jake peek out from their hiding spot. Curious, she did the same... then instantly regretted it. Her hands shot up to her mouth to keep herself from audibly gasping. Riley couldn't believe what she was seeing.

A huge, hulking moutain of man, tightly gripping a crude machete, and wearing a white mask with a horrible jagged immitation of a smile. Hooks stabbed into the flesh of his shoulder and fresh-looking slashes covered his visible body, but he seemed to pay them no mind. The grisly man was staring down at the trap that Jake had sprung. His gaze then wandered upwards to do a quick once-over of the area. She flinched back behind the tree as his view passed over their hiding spot, silently praying that the monster would move on soon. 

After several moments of nothing but the heartbeart thudding in her head, she heard the man pick up the trap with a clink of metal. He then began to lazily trudge over to their hiding spot. Her own heart started to race.  _ Oh god, please no. _ Suddenly, she realized something.  _ The blood... did we leaving a blood trail?! _ Wide-eyed, she shifted her gaze over to Jake who was still staring straight ahead and concentrating on breathing. Without really thinking about it, her hand reached out for his and gripped it tightly. Slightly startled from his trance, Jake looked over to her, then smiled softly, regrettably. The heartbeat was so loud and fast now it drowned out her own. For a moment, Riley thought she could hear laboured huffs and breaths from behind.

Jake then put a finger up to his lips, gave her hand a squeeze, and started to climb to his feet. Before she could even process what was happening, he had bolted out from behind their tree, limping away as fast as he could. There was also a whoosh of air from the towering monster as he rushed after Jake. She watched in silent horror as the two moved further and further away. The pounding in her ears quickly died down to nothing.

For a moment she didn't move, her hand apparently still outstretched when Jake had broken the hold. After several long minutes of sitting there in shock, she slowly got up and started to wander about, unsure of what to do with herself. Something was making her eyesight blurry she realized. She attempted to blink it away, but only felt a wetness roll down her cheeks and off her chin.

Her foot bumped into something then. She peered down and realized that it was another beartrap. She gave a short, hysterical chuckle and then shuffled off in another direction. This whole situation was too much for her mind to process. Riley was breaking.

Suddenly, a terrible, gutteral scream shattered the stillness of the gloom, snapping Riley of out of her mental breakdown. It was Jake.  _ Oh god, oh shit, that monster must of have caught him. _ She bounced in place for a few seconds, anxiously considering her options, and then hurried off in the direction she suspected the scream had come from. Riley was so scared of what she might find when she got there, but if he was still alive, he'd need her help. Jake had clearly taken the heat for her earlier, and she'd be damned if she was going to let him die now.

Keeping an eye out for more beartraps, the young woman swiftly slinked around crates, trees, and sections of half-destroyed brick walls, making her way towards the survivor in peril. That dull thumping started up in her head once again, but it was sluggish and barely noticable. 

As she rounded the corner of a random shack, her stomach flipped. It was Jake, and he had been impaled through his shoulder and suspended on one of those meathooks apparently scattered throughout the area.

She rushed over to him, silently panicking. "Jake? Jake, holy shit, c- can you hear me?" she said softly, voice trembling.

His eyes fluttered open and after several seconds of searching, his glazed eyes finally focused on her, then looked at something off to the side.

"Meg," he sputtered feebly.

"Jake."

Riley nearly jumped at the sound of the woman's voice right next to her. She hadn't even noticed the other person approach.

"G- Gonna get me off h- here?" Jake slurred. He coughed then, foamy blood spurting from his mouth and staining his lips.

The red-haired woman in pink and blue running gear sauntered up to the hooked man. "Help me," she muttered. Riley quickly complied. They both grabbed hold of Jake, who whimpered miserably at the movement, and then they gently lifted him up and off of the hook. He was unable to suppress several groans and shrieks as the sharp piece of metal left his body. Riley caught him just before he collapsed to the ground. Then, that heartbeat started up again, and it was quickly getting louder and faster.

"You guys get somewhere safe, I'll distract him," said Meg.

Riley gawked, trying to keep Jake on his feet, "W- What? No! Come on, it-"

"Get out of here,  _ now _ ," she barked menacingly. Meg then turned and smirked at them, obviously confident. "I got this. Now go!"

Gritting her teeth with determination, Riley threw Jake's uninjured arm over her shoulder and half-dragged him away from the bloody meathook. The thudding in her ears was deafening now. Fear gnawed at her heals and drove her to go faster. She didn't slow or look back until the only heartbeat she could feel was her own, and hers was fluttering. Suddenly, she realized that Jake was pleading with her to stop.

"Oh shit, sorry."

She found a hidden spot and helped lower him to the ground against a tree.

"F- First aid kit.." he ground out, then weakly coughed a wet cough. Bloody spittle dribbled down his chin.

She nodded, "I'll take a look around." She tried to get him to put pressure on his perforated shoulder, "Keep pressure on this, okay? Don't fall asleep on me, I'll be right back." When he acknowledged her in the affirmative, Riley got back to her feet and took a second to analyze her surroundings before jogging off. There was random junk everywhere; maybe she could find something to patch up his wounds?

After a minute or two of searching the nooks, crannies and piles of random stuff scattered about the area, she came upon an old chest tucked away against one of those random sections of brick walls. Figuring it might just have something useful enough for someone to stash away, she tossed open the lid and started to rummage through it. There were some old knick-knacks, hardware, scraps of wire, as well as a set of threads and needles, which she pocketed. She also grabbed a grease rag that was relatively clean and some twine. There was also a small metal case. Riley grabbed it and popped it open, rejoicing at the sight of bandages and other basic medical supplies.

She quickly gathered up her loot and hurried back to the spot she had left Jake. When she got there, he was limp and seemingly lifeless.

"Shit." She kneeled down in front of him, dropping her supplies at his feet, and started to lightly pat at his cheek. "Jake. Hey wake up. Jake?"

He jerked awake, then immediately grimmaced in pain. "Ugh, shit."

"Got the supplies. Just stay lucid, okay?" 

"Gotcha..."

She got out Isaac's pocket knife, hesitating at the reminder of her brother, then started to cut away the pieces of clothing around the hole in Jake's shoulder. There was some clotting around the wound but it was still bleeding quite profusely. For a moment, she became nauseous at the sight, but she quickly quashed the feeling; now was not the time to get squeamish. She dabbed away some of the blood with the rag then readied her needle and thread, looking to her patient for approval.

He looked at it then turned away and braced himself. "Go for it..."

She had no idea how to properly close an injury like this, but Jake was at imminent risk of bleeding out, so a simple cross-stitch would have to do. As she leaned in with the needle, she realized her hand was shaking like a leaf. Too much adrenaline. Riley took a few deep breaths to calm herself and tried again. She felt him tense when the needle punctured the skin, but he said nothing, so she continued as quickly as she could manage. Skin happened to be much tougher and more elastic than fabric so she had some difficulty actually getting the needle through. The slippery blood didn't help either. Eventually though, the wound was closed and the thread was tied off. She cut the loose ends with her knife. Jake turned and allowed her to repeat the process on his back.

When the gruesome procedure was finally finished, she slipped his green jacket off his shoulder to wrap the area with the bandages she had found. Next was his leg. First she wrapped it with the remaining bandages, then grabbed a few sturdy-looking sticks and fashioned a crude splint around the leg with the twine. As she pulled it tight, Jake gave a sharp yelp but did not protest further.

When all was said and done, Jake allowed himself a few moments to rest, then tried to get to his feet. Caught off guard by this, Riley swooped in to help him up.

"Hey, wait! You sure you wanna get up right now?"

"Have to keep going.. gotta fix the generators," he muttered, and started limping off unsteadily, cradling his impaired arm.

Shit, he was determined. Riley quickly packed the remaining thread, twine, and needles into the metal case and stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans. She then hurried back over to Jake's side to help him walk.

"You gonna be okay?"

"I'll live. For now," he stated indifferently. He coughed up some blood again, and quickly wiped it away on his sleeve. "I'll be better if we can get those gens running."

She glanced at him and frowned with worry, but said nothing.

They wandered about searching for generators, Jake leading the way, taking care not to walk into any more traps. The two then came upon the foundry building. The steel structure towered above the surrounding forest. They made their way inside towards the generator Jake knew to be there.

"The foundry?" Riley inquired.

"Yea, but not exactly. It's more of an immitation of the real one," he explained. At her confused expression, he added dismissively, "I'll elaborate later. Let's just get this gen going."

Jake then limped over to the defunct machine. As he leaned down, he seemed to loose his sense of balance for a moment but managed to catch himself. Riley swooped in once again to help, but he put his hand up in refusal. 

"M'fine," he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. The bloodloss was obviously taking its toll. Without any more delay, he got to work, with Riley joining him at another access point, mentally grumbling about Jake's stubborness as she worked. However, her mind eventually began to wander. 

"Who... what... was that thing..."

He eyed her thoughtfully, then returned his attention the mess of machine parts in front of him. "We call him The Trapper. He's one of several killers that hunt us."

"Several?" she asked nervously.

"It's just him right now, don't worry. For every trial, a different killer is choosen each time. We never know who, or what, it is until it's usually too late."

She had so many questions, but she still wasn't entirely sure what her actual situation was. A part of her wanted to believe she was still somewhere in the woods surrounding Weeks, but Jake had insisted they were on some other kind of plane of existence entirely. The only thing she was sure of at the moment was that this was a  _ nightmare. _ An image of that thing... the Trapper... popped into her mind. Staring... The pale mask with the twisted smile, the black, pinhole eyes staring daggers into her soul. Riley shuddered.

Without warning, the generator loudly blew with a surge of electricity. It startled Riley so badly she fell on her backside.

"Shit! Sorry, my damn fingers are numb," Jake explained, "Hurry and finish before he gets here."

Still shaken from the scare, Riley jumped back to her feet and got back to fixing the machinery frantically; she did  _ not _ want to see that thing again.

It wasn't long before that dull heartbeat crept into her head. The two survivors looked at each other.

"You hear it too?" she asked.

"Yea, it's  _ his  _ heartbeat. And it means he's coming here to  _ kill  _ us, so hurry up!"

"Oh god, oh shit..."

As the thudding grew in tempo and intensity, her instinct to run became stronger and stronger with every moment until it was unbearable. "Jake!" she cried intently.

"Hold on, just gotta get this one-" The generator burst to life, floodlights drenching the floor in light. "Got it! Go!" He grabbed her elbow and steered her towards a nearby doorway that lead downstairs. Just before going down the stairs, he wiped off some blood on a nearby gap in the wall that lead outside. 

The heartbeat was deafening now. As Riley turned the corner into the basement, she gasped at the sight of the pillar of hooks in the center of the room, with blood spattering all over the floor. Her first instinct was to turn tail and run, but she crashed into Jake. He immediately grabbed her and held on, desperate to calm her, but she fought against him. Finally he clamped a gloved hand over her mouth and pinned her against the wall, his fearful expression pleading with her to stop and be quiet. Eventually Riley got ahold of herself, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths. Jake hesitantly removed his hand after a few seconds.

After eyeing her intently for a moment, he then moved back over to the corner and slowly peaked around to look up the stairway. She watched him nervously, prepared to run again if he showed any signs of doing the same. That heartbeat was still intensly beating in her head, meaning he must be right on top of them.  _ Go away, go away! _ She started to beat her fists against her skull in an effort to drown out the brisk thumping in her head. Tears were flowing down her cheeks once again.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the killer seemed to be moving on. Jake slowly leaned back against the wall in audible relief, and Riley released a shaky breath she forgot she was holding. When the heartbeat finally died down to nothing, Jake finally spoke.

"He.. He took the bait... Didn't think that would work..." he stated blankly, his expression betraying the fact that they had narrowly escaped death. Riley then slid down to the floor, cradling her head in her hands. Several quiet sobs wracked her body and then the tears started to flow. She heard Jake sigh wearily, then sit down next to her, suppressing a grunt a pain.

"I- I can't do this! What the h- hell is hap- happening," she blubbered softly, "I just wanna g- go home..."

For a minute, the only sound in the grisly basement was Riley's suppressed sobs, until Jake decided to speak up, "Eh... Look, I know this whole thing is crazy and scary, and I'm sorry you're a part of this, but now's really not the time to be feeling sorry about yourself." He audibly grimaced with effort as he got back on his feet. "We have to keep moving forward to survive, but I... I need your help. I can't do this alone – not like this anyways," he gestured to his messed up self. "And I'm pretty sure you need my help too." Jake then offered his hand to her, "So, you wanna get the hell out of here?"

Riley sniffled and wiped her face, then looked up at Jake. Taking in a deep breath to steel herself, she took his outstretched hand. Smiling, Jake pulled her to her feet, careful to not put too much weight on his bad leg. He then put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, it's gonna be okay, alright? Let's just get through this." The survivor then limped his way around the corner and up the stairs.

The young woman took several more breaths to calm herself, then summoned her courage. He was right. If she wanted to get out of this alive, she'd have to work for it. Sitting here crying and panicking wasn't going to help. That thing would find her eventually if she didn't do anything.

With renewed hope, Riley strode forward, following after Jake up the stairs and out of the malicious basement. He was waiting for her at the top. Together they braved the gloom of the Macmillan foundry and surrounding forest , or some semblence of the real one. They roamed the grounds for several minutes, careful to avoid any more beartraps as they looked for a generator to work on. Fortunately there was no sign of that dreaded heartbeat or the thing it belonged to.

Finally, Riley spotted a generator, its floodlights flickering weakly through the darkness. Slowly, they made their way over to it, glancing around at their surroundings and at their feet. As they got closer, Riley noticed that some of the pistons and gears were already moving, meaning that someone had previously worked on it.

"Someone's been here," she pointed out.

"Yup. Wouldn't be surprised if they already got a gen or two running. You already met Meg. Pretty sure the fourth lucky contestant is Claudette. Haven't seen her since the trial started, but I'm sure she's around here somewhere. She likes to lay low."

Riley nodded then knelt down to start repairing the machine. They worked in silence, intent on making sure no mistakes were made. They really couldn't afford another encounter with that brutal killer. Fortunately there was still no sign of the Trapper: he was probably occupied. At that thought, Riley grimly realized it was more than likely at the expense of either Meg or Claudette.

Finally, the generator shuddered into full operation. There was also a piercing alarm in the distance.

"The gates! They're powered! Hurry!" Jake grabbed at her insistently, encouraging her follow him. Taken off guard, Riley stumbled to her feet and scampered after the other survivor. "C'mon it's this way!"

Then she saw it: a large door made of shabby sheets of metal with a lever to the side. The exit! It had to be! They were almost out of this hellhole.

Jake made it there first despite his injuries, and threw himself at the lever, yanking it down with a spark of electricity. "Keep an eye out, this is gonna take a few seconds."

"Gotcha."

Still no sign of the Trapper that she could see, thankfully, but she did manage to make out another small bobbing form jogging toward them, pigtails bouncing on the sides of her head.

"Glad to see you guys are still in one piece," Meg called out when she was close enough, somewhat breathless from running.

"Same to you Meg," Riley responded with a small smile, "Thanks for earlier by the way."

Meg waved her hand dismissively, "Don't mention it. We're all in this together and we've gotta help each other when we can."

A loud buzzer echoed from the door as the third red bulb lit up. The mechanisms inside shifted and turned loudly. "Almost open. Any sign of Claudette?" Jake asked.

Meg sighed, grimacing with concern, "No. Haven't seen or heard anyth-"

Right on que, a shriek of pain was heard in the distance and the three survivors looked out in search of the origin of the dreaded noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is as far as I got. I may or may not finish it one day.


End file.
